The Spaniard is out of work after being sacked by Middlesbrough in March, having guided them to promotion from the Championship a year earlier.

During his time at Middlesbrough he was criticised by former Celtic striker Chris Sutton, Scottish football's most notorious pundit, and a regular scourge of Rangers.

Sutton tipped Karanka's Boro for relegation earlier this year - he turned out to be right - and criticised his man management.

He told The Mail: "They [Middlesbrough] are the division's lowest scorers and, though they have kept things tight at the back, their lack of creativity will become a problem should they start leaking goals.

"Karanka made a mistake criticising the fans. When you are on the slide you need everyone pulling in the same direction."

Rangers' level of interest in Karanka remains unclear, but he is a manager who has amassed plenty of experience in his short career so far and is well connected.

But he might find something in common with previous Rangers managers - a struggle to win over Sutton from the very first moment.

Dan Coombs

Dan Coombs has been writing for HITC Sport full time since 2012 and has helped the website grow it's audience considerably during this period, while managing a team of writers. He has interviewed high profile names including Stuart Pearce and his work has been cited in Javier Hernandez's biography. In addition to football, Dan is a big fan of the NFL and NBA.